Disposable rim device for beverageware

ABSTRACT

A releasable and disposable rim device for beverageware, including drinking glasses, that can be attached to the rim of the beverageware to prevent contact between the beverageware itself and an individual&#39;s mouth and lips.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63/093,376, filed Oct. 19, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a disposable, releasable rim device (accessory) and a method for applying the disposable rim device to any beverageware, such as a drinking glass, by placing the disposable rim device over the glass lip. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a device and method for a person to drink from a drinking glass while preventing an individual's lips and mouth from making direct contact with the drinking glass while still allowing them to drink. For purposes of this disclosure, drinking glass shall be deemed to include beverageware made from any material, including but not limited to, glass, acrylic or aluminum.

BACKGROUND

Current practices for drinking from a drinking glass requires a person's lips and mouth to make direct contact with the rim of the drinking glass, thus increasing the likelihood of ingesting any germs that remain on the part of the drinking glass that the person drinks from.

Ingesting surface germs from a glass can cause an individual to become sick and can spread disease among other members of the community.

Thus, there is a need to address the foregoing problems.

SUMMARY

A disposable rim device for releasably connecting to beverageware includes an arcuate shaped body having an interior wall for placement along an inner surface of the drinking glass and an exterior wall for placement along an outer surface of the drinking glass. The exterior wall is connected to the interior wall along a top edge of the arcuate shaped body. The interior wall is spaced from the exterior wall so as to define a receiving space for receiving a top section of the drinking glass and allowing position of the interior wall along the inner surface and the exterior wall along the outer surface. A height of the exterior wall is greater than a height of the interior wall.

The present disclosure thus provides an attachment device or accessory for use on a drinking glass such that the when the attachment device is connected to the glass, the glass will not come into direct contact with a person's mouth or lips.

There is provided a disposable releasable rim device that attaches to the rim of the drinking glass such that, at least in one implementation, it covers at least two inches around the circumference of the glass and is 0.5 inch in depth on the interior of the glass 10 and one inch in the depth on the exterior of the glass 10. It fits on the glass rim and can easily be pulled off. It is intended to be disposed of once removed from the drinking glass to insure sanitary conditions.

In many cases, the disposable rim device is made of any number of different non-toxic materials, including but not limited to silicone (e.g., with a durometer of 15) or urethane or thermoplastic elastomer materials (tpe).

It will be understood that the aforementioned dimensions are only exemplary in nature and not limited of the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a disposable rim device according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view thereof;

FIG. 3 is rear elevation view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a left side elevation view;

FIG. 5 is a right side elevation view;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view thereof; and

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view showing the disposable rim device attached to a container, such as a wine glass or drinking glass.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure relates to an attachment rim device (accessory) for use on a drinking glass, such that when the attachment device is removed from the sealed plastic bag and placed onto the glass, the glass will not make contact with a person's lips or mouth. The disclosure provided below for a water glass also relates to a wine glass, champagne glass or any other drinking device made from glass and other drinking glass as defined herein.

Referring to the drawings and, in particular, to FIG. 1, there is shown one exemplary disposable and releasable rim device 100 (hereinafter “disposable rim”) for a container or vessel, such as a drinking glass 10 shown in FIG. 8. The disposable rim device can be formed of any number of different suitable materials and more particularly, in all embodiments the disposable rim device 100 is made of non-toxic materials suitable for the intended use. For example, the disposable rim device 100 can be formed of silicone, urethane or tpe.

In all embodiments, the disposable rim device 100 can be attached to any side of the drinking glass 10.

The drinking glass 10 can be any beverage container made from glass or acrylic or any other material as defined herein and intended for human consumption as shown in FIG. 8. In one preferred embodiment, the disposable rim device 100 is used in combination with a water glass or a juice glass. In another preferred embodiment, the disposable rim device 100 is used in combination with a wine glass or a champagne glass.

Referring to FIGS. 1-7, the disposable rim device 100 is formed as a single integral body 105 that has an exterior wall 110 and an opposing interior wall 120 with the exterior wall 110 and the interior wall 120 being connected along a top edge 130 of the body 105. The exterior wall 110 and the interior wall 120 are spaced apart with an opening or space 135 being formed and defined between the exterior wall 110 and the interior wall 120. The rim of the glass 10 is snugly inserted into this opening 135 to allow the disposable rim device 100 to sit upon the top edge of the glass 10. The body 105 is pliable (elastomeric) in nature to allow for the disposable rim device 100 to be manipulated and fitted along the curved rim of the glass 10. The body 105 thus itself assumes an arcuate shape when it is fitted along the curved rim of the glass 10. The disposable rim device 100 can be thought of as having a hook shape that fits over the rim of the glass 10. In addition, as shown, the body 105 can be preformed to have an arcuate shape such that in its native, at rest state, the body 105 is curved.

In all embodiments, the disposable rim 100 has an interior surface (defined by the interior wall 120) and an exterior surface (defined by the exterior wall 110) that covers a select area of the drinking glass 10 both in and out where the interior covered area is smaller than the exterior covered area. In other words, the surface area or footprint of the interior wall 120 is less than the surface area of footprint of the exterior wall 110. Due to the size differences, the body 105 can be thought of as being generally J-shaped with the exterior wall 110 having a greater height than the interior wall 120.

It will be appreciated that the inner wall 120 has an inner surface that faces inwardly into the center of the drinking glass 10 and an exterior surface that at least partially seats against an inner surface of the drinking glass 10. Similarly, the exterior wall 110 has an inner surface that at least partially seats against an outer surface of the drinking glass 10 and an outer surface that is an exposed surface and faces away from the drinking glass 10.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the disposable rim device 100 connected to the drinking glass 10. The exterior wall 110 of the disposable rim device 100 covers approximately between 1 inch to 1.25 inches (e.g., 1.17 inches) deep along the outer edge of the drinking glass 10 and the depth along the inner edge of the drinking glass 10 is approximately 50% to 75% of the depth of the outer edge (e.g., between 0.5 inch to 0.8 inch). As used herein, the terms “depth” refers to the distance from the top edge of the glass 10 in a downward direction toward the bottom of the glass 10. The term “height” refers to a distance from the top edge of the respective wall of the body 105 to a bottom edge thereof. The width of the disposable rim device 100 can be between 2.00 inches to 2.25 inches (e.g., 2.12 inches).

Both the inner surface and outer surface of the inner wall 120 can have smooth constructions/appearances as shown in the figures.

As shown in the figures, the exterior wall 110 can include a discrete area 150 that is intended for placement of the lips of the user.

The discrete area 150 can have a width of about 1.68 inches when the width of the disposable rim device 100 is 2.12 inches. This discrete area 150 is intended for placement of the lips of the user when drinking from the glass 10. The discrete area 150 can be defined by a raised ridge 152 that defines and separates the discrete area 150 form the surrounding area 154 of the exterior wall 110. By having a different appearance, the discrete area 150 is immediately identified by the user and acts as a guide or locator to the user in terms of placement of the lips of the user.

As shown, the raised ridge 152 can have a U-shape. The raised ridge 152 thus has a pair of parallel sides 153 and a bottom side 155 that connects the sides 153 and is parallel to a top edge of the exterior wall 110.

As shown, the discrete area 150 can have a smooth appearance, while the surrounding area 154 can have a surface profile other than being smooth. As shown, the surrounding area 154 can have a ribbed construction in that a series of ribs 160 are formed across the width of the surrounding area 154. The ribs 160 can be formed diagonally across the surrounding area 154. Between the ribs 160, there are valleys 161.

The shape and size of the ribs 160 can be different across the surrounding area 154. For example, one or more ribs 160 can have a greater width than other ribs. One of the ribs 160 can be wider so as to allow placement of a corporate name and/or logo. The exposed sides of the exterior wall 110 can have a scallop shape due to the peaks and valleys defined by the ribs 160 that extend across the exposed sides of the exterior wall 110.

The opposing surfaces of the exterior wall 110 and the interior wall 120 that contact the glass 10 can, as shown, be smooth unadorned surfaces. Alternatively, these surfaces can have a profile, such as being ribbed or a plurality of raised features, such as bumps, that promote gripping between the walls 110, 120 and the glass 10. Alternatively, the surface can be roughened surface.

In addition, one or more of these glass contacting surfaces can have a surface treatment such as a layer of a repositionable adhesive material (e.g., pressure sensitive adhesive layer) that promotes an attraction between the body 105 and the glass 10. The adhesive layer can extend across the entire glass contacting surface or it can be in the form of discrete pads of adhesive material, such as two or more shaped (e.g., circular) pads of adhesive material that are spaced apart from one another.

Once the disposable rim device 100 is releasably secured to the drinking glass 10 as described above, using the disposable rim device 100 as described herein, the disposable rim device 100 sits in place along the top edge of the drinking glass 10 and covers it to a predefined depth. The covering of the drinking glass by the disposable rim device 100 prevents the glass 10 from making contact with a person's mouth or lips and thereby protecting the user from any germs or virus that may that be present on the glass surface.

The disposable rim device 100 can be designed in different colors and with designs or logos such that the visibility and aesthetic appeal of the disposable rim device 100 is increased.

In another embodiment, the interior wall 120 can be contoured to encourage and channel flow of the liquid contained in the glass 10 to the user's mouth. For example, the interior wall 120 can have a local area of reduced thickness that acts as a trough in which the liquid enters and flows to the top rim of the glass 10. The trough can have a greater dimension at the bottom edge of the interior wall 120 and a lesser dimension at the top edge of the interior wall 120 so as to provide a funnel-like action in which the liquid in the glass 10 is directed to the user's mouth.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference to one or more exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents can be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed as the best mode contemplated. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A disposable rim device for releasably connecting to beverageware comprising: an arcuate shaped body having an interior wall for placement along an inner surface of the drinking glass and an exterior wall for placement along an outer surface of the drinking glass, the exterior wall being connected to the interior wall along a top edge of the arcuate shaped body, the interior wall being spaced from the exterior wall so as to define a receiving space for receiving a top section of the drinking glass and allowing position of the interior wall along the inner surface and the exterior wall along the outer surface; wherein a height of the exterior wall is greater than a height of the interior wall.
 2. The disposable rim device of claim 1, wherein the arcuate shaped body is formed of a material selected from the group of silicone, urethane, and thermoplastic elastomer materials that promotes the arcuate shaped body being releasably secured to the drinking glass.
 3. The disposable rim device of claim 1, wherein the arcuate shaped body has a length of between 2 inches and 2.5 inches, the height of the exterior wall is between 1 inch and 1.25 inches and the height of the interior wall is between ½ inch and 0.80 inch.
 4. The disposable rim device of claim 1, wherein the arcuate shaped body has a semi-circular shape.
 5. The disposable rim device of claim 1, wherein the exterior wall has a first portion and a surrounding second portion that is separated from the first portion by a raised ridge.
 6. The disposable rim device of claim 5, wherein the raised ridge has a U-shape with a bottom edge of the raised ridge being parallel to a top edge of the arcuate shaped body.
 7. The disposable rim device of claim 5, wherein the first portion extends to a top edge of the arcuate shaped body and the second portion extends to the top edge of the arcuate shaped body at a first end and an opposite second end of the arcuate shaped body.
 8. The disposable rim device of claim 5, wherein the first portion has a smooth outer surface and the second portion is contoured.
 9. The disposable rim device of claim 8, wherein the second portion includes a plurality ribs.
 10. The disposable rim device of claim 9, wherein the plurality of ribs are diagonally formed.
 11. The disposable rim device of claim 1, wherein the receiving space is sized such that the top section of the drinking glass fits snugly therein.
 12. A disposable rim device for releasably connecting to beverageware comprising: an arcuate shaped body having an interior wall for placement along an inner surface of the drinking glass and an exterior wall for placement along an outer surface of the drinking glass, the exterior wall being connected to the interior wall along a top edge of the arcuate shaped body, the interior wall being spaced from the exterior wall so as to define a receiving space for receiving a top section of the drinking glass and allowing position of the interior wall along the inner surface and the exterior wall along the outer surface; wherein the exterior wall has a first portion and a surrounding second portion that is separated from the first portion by a raised ridge, the first portion having a smooth outer surface, while the surrounding second portion having an uneven outer surface; and wherein the raised ridge has a U-shape with a bottom edge of the raised ridge being parallel to a top edge of the arcuate shaped body. 